What Happened to Us?
by kenzieee4
Summary: Ayano is thinking back on the days she spent with Kazuma. Rather, one particular day. Melancholy tone, not really the happiest thing I've written.  OOCness, and it's a bit sad.  Friendship or Romance, depends on how you take it.


**What Happened to Us?**

_Ayano was just enjoying another day with her friends Yukari and Nanase. Although she was enjoying herself, she couldn't help but wonder where Kazuma was. She hadn't seen him in awhile. What if he was with Kirika! What if they were… 'No! Don't think about things like that! He wouldn't! He said he didn't have any interest in her himself!' She scolded herself. That's when she received a strange text from Ren. It read:_

_You should go to the amusement park with me today! I need another friend with me. Please come! – Ren_

_Now, saying Ayano was confused would be an understatement. She was utterly befuddled. She hadn't realized Ren was going anywhere that day! And were these 'other friends' with him? Oh well. It's not like she could say no. "Hey Yukari, Nanase, I have to go somewhere. So I'll see you around!" the red-head called out as she ran towards the amusement park. Yukari and Nanase giggled knowingly._

"_I guess Ren was brave enough to send the text," Yukari chuckled. Nanase nodded at the blonde. _

"_Yeah. Good for him. Maybe we'll finally get those two together. Ayano is so impossible," she said exasperatedly. Yukari chuckled some more as they walked off to some unknown destination. _

_Ayano was hurrying towards the amusement park. The front gates were in sight when she ran into someone. "Hey princess, watch where you're going," an all too familiar voice sighed. _

"_Kazuma? What are you doing here?" the red-head asked angrily. Kazuma looked at her with a look she couldn't decipher._

"_Ren invited me," he answered. Ayano narrowed her eyes._

"_Did he? He invited me too…" she told her partner. Then she received another text from Ren saying that he couldn't come because Jugo had told him no. She sighed, not understanding his real objective. "Looks like he can't come…so no point in staying!"_

"_Why not? We can enjoy the amusement park without Ren you know," Kazuma replied, staring at a few of the rides. Ayano immediately blushed. Was he suggesting that they spend a day together like that, no on business or something? "What? Does the princess not like that idea?" he asked. _

"_W-What are you talking about? Of course I like it! I'd love to spend the day in the amusement park with you!" Ayano yelled before realizing exactly what she had just said. She blushed deeper than before when she saw Kazuma's smirk._

"_Got you," he chuckled. "I knew it…"_

"_WHAT? YOU KNEW WHAT?" Ayano screeched angrily. Kazuma looked at in amusement before replying._

"_I knew you liked amusement parks."_

"_Oh. Okay. You're right about that," the red-head replied. Her partner just smiled forlornly and headed up to the gates._

"_Two tickets for the day please," he requested. When Ayano finally caught up to him, he shoved a ticket into her hand. "Do you want to wander off or walk together?"_

"_Um…we should walk together," she replied, "But just incase there's something wrong in the amusement park!" she added quickly. _

"_Right. Let's just enjoy ourselves, shall we?" Kazuma smirked. Ayano nodded and followed him towards the Ferris wheel. As they stood in line, she found herself unable to take her eyes off him. The way his hair blew in the faint wind, the way his expression made him look so peaceful… "Ayano? It's time to get onto the ride…" Kazuma woke her out of her daze. _

"_O-oh. Right," the red-head chuckled and took a seat next to him on the Ferris wheel. Together they stared into the distance. It felt as if they were the only people in the world. _

"_It's really beautiful out there," Kazuma said out of the blue, interrupting the silence which had fallen. Ayano turned to look at him. He had a sort of melancholy smile as he stared at the sky. _

"_Yeah…" Ayano replied, fairly surprised that he had said such a thing. It wasn't like him to be so…serene. "Kazuma…is something wrong?" she asked. Kazuma turned to look her in the eye. _

"_There might be something wrong, or there might not be something wrong. It all depends on you," he responded. Ayano sighed. Typical Kazuma. _

"_That's not an answer," she sighed. Naturally, that's when the ride stopped and they had to get off. Kazuma quickly left her side and headed towards an unknown destination. Ayano quickly followed. "Come on Kazuma! Just tell me what's wrong!" she demanded when she finally caught up. "I think we need to talk," the red-head sighed. Kazuma sighed and followed her to a bench. "Sit down. We just need a talk," Ayano told him. _

"_Alright," the wind mage smiled politely at her. Ayano saw through his act, but didn't say anything. "Nothing's wrong Ayano, really. I have to go," Kazuma sighed after no one said anything for a few moments. He walked westwards towards his hotel room. Ayano stood up silently and walked east towards the Kannagi estate. It was now getting closer and closer to evening. _

"_Did I do something wrong?" Ayano sighed, fearing she was to blame for Kazuma's strange behavior. She was now at the estate. Ren smiled up at her, but she ignored him and went to talk to her father. "Father, something's wrong with Kazuma. Can I go to his house and make sure he's alright?" she asked. Jugo looked at her thoughtfully._

"_Yes," he answered after debating quite a bit. At that, Ayano bolted out the door. She ran towards her friend's hotel with an urgency she didn't understand. When she finally reached the hotel, she remembered the extremely long elevator ride. _

"_Screw it," the red-head sighed and ran up the many flights of stairs. By the time she reached his door, she was breathless. She opened his door, which happened to be unlocked. "Kazuma!"_

"_Ayano, what are you doing here?" the said wind mage asked. _

"_I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Ayano told him. Kazuma smiled a bit and lowered his head._

"_Do you think you know best Ayano?" he asked. Ayano was taken back by the question._

"_Well, yes I do!" she replied indignantly._

"_Ah. Okay. Of course you do," he chuckled wryly. The red-head sighed. _

"_What's wrong with you?" she asked, trying to slip past her friend's defense. Kazuma shook his head. "Okay, how about this. Let's make a list of everything that's wrong," Ayano suggested. Her friend simply shrugged. She decided to make a list of everything she had noticed different about him. After finishing it, she placed it in front of him. _

"_A list…" Kazuma sighed. Ayano was really just trying to help him, but she couldn't get through to him. At this point, she was just praying he was listening to her. Listening to what she was saying._

"_Everything will be alright Kazuma…" she assured her friend._

"_How do you know that?" he asked, raising his voice. _

"_I'll give you a choice…tell me what's wrong and I'll stay with you, or don't tell me and I'll leave," Ayano told him, lowering her voice. She figured he'd do one of the two things. Either explain everything, or say he's fine. _

"_I'm fine Ayano…" Kazuma sighed. The red-head began wondering why she even came. _

"_Alright. Goodbye Kazuma," she told him sadly and walked out of his room slowly. _

Ayano looked back on that say with such sorrow and regret. "I should have stayed with him that night! I would have…had I known how to save a life," she sighed. "Where did I go wrong?" Ayano regretted leaving. It was because she left that she lost a friend.

**A/N: **

**:...Okay, looking back on this, it's a bit sad. And Kazuma's OOCness increases throughout the entire thing. At first he's pretty in character, but as the story progresses he's way OOC. Oh well. And here's a warning. This story is inspired by the song How to Save a Life, so...not the happiest fic out there! I guess a tiny bit of fluff is involved. So, Implied Character Death. I kind of left it open-ended. Do you think he commited suicide or did something just happen...? You decide. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Kaze no Stigma, would I bother writing facfiction for it? Probably not. Therefore, I obviously don't own Kaze no Stigma. **

**Review and tell me what you think...? :)...?**


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